Costas Georgiou: “What led me to China was my willingness, eagerness and curiosity to see a part of the world that I wasn't too familiar with"

Costas Georgiou, co-founder of BeHive, talks about the current business ecosystem of China, his life as a foreigner in Beijing, and why the city and its people will always hold a special place in his heart.

After living in China for nine years, Costas Georgiou has decided to move to London to be closer to his loved ones and his travel plans have brought him to Cyprus for a few days. The man is an absolute fireball of positive energy; he fills the room with his presence and openness, commanding my attention from the moment he starts recalling his first steps in Beijing. “What led me to China was my willingness, eagerness and curiosity to see a part of the world that I wasn't too familiar with. I didn't know much about the culture,” he admits, before adding. “But my previous experiences had taught me that when you engage with people who view the world differently from you, you are able to develop and grow in unique ways. And that was essentially the motivation behind my decision to explore opportunities in the Far East.”

Initially, he reveals, his plan was to go to China for 10 months after he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Law, with his best friend and subsequent BeHive co-founder, Petros Djakouris, via a scheme that would allow them to teach English for a year. However, after a couple of months in the dynamic, vibrant and energetic city of Beijing, they saw an international community buzzing with entrepreneurial activity, with startups, meet ups and networking events proving the existence of a robust business system. It also revealed a market gap, which would subsequently lead to the establishment of BeHive in 2017.

“At the time, we realised that we wanted to spend more time there, so we had to enrol somewhere to learn the language,” he recalls, explaining that, via China’s Mission to the EU, the Chinese government gave European Union countries a specific number of scholarships, depending on that country's population. “Cyprus could only get one or two a year, due to the island’s small size,” he says, pausing as he goes on to express his gratitude: “Petros won the scholarship and shared it with me. Without him, BeHive would not be what it is today.” The two friends enrolled in 2016 but, soon after visiting the university's career service, they discovered that it was unable to provide much career support to international students like themselves. “By that point, however, we had already attended dozens of networking events in Beijing and developed a network of our own,” he tells GOLD. “And through our need to create opportunities for ourselves, as well as for those around us, BeHive came into being.”

Affected by their own experience, the duo concluded that, when people are part of a community in which where they feel safe, surrounded by like-minded people, they are more willing to grow and engage with others. After several weeks of deliberation, they decided that the word that best encapsulated that concept was ‘hive’. “We wanted the people that were in the ‘hive’ to ‘Be’ the ‘Hive’ and represent the values of the hive!” he says, laughing. So, the two BeHive partners got down to work right away, with the aim of providing young people with the network, tools and knowledge to succeed in their personal and professional lives by organising interactive workshops, lectures, seminars and focusing on the skills that they considered as “crucial for the modern day and age, but were not being provided by conventional educational institutions,” as Georgiou clarifies, referring to public speaking, presentations, communication, intercultural understanding and networking.

I am quite surprised by this and, seeing my perplexed expression, he rushes to clarify his point. “We had seen that, in China, education focused mostly on hard skills, while soft skills came second. Even though the country is now starting to embrace soft skills, they're definitely nowhere near as widely provided as in the West. Over the course of the past few decades, the Chinese economy has traditionally been production-based, but China is now trying to develop a service economy as well, and with the world becoming more interconnected and competitive, it recognises that soft skills are also very important, if you want to make the most of the opportunities that are presented to you.”

Since its establishment, BeHive has organised more than 110 events, bringing together more than 10,000 people in Beijing and Shanghai through offline training. From the organisation of job fairs for the international community to major collaborations with institutions and local government agencies, Georgiou is proud of what he and Djakouris have created: an organisation which, through tailored courses, exclusive networking opportunities and high-level events, equips college students and career starters in China with the skills, connections and mindset to succeed in the country’s fiercely competitive job market.

Among the highlights so far, Georgiou notes with unabashed enthusiasm the company’s collaboration with the Chinese Government on the HICOOL Global Entrepreneurship Competition – an annual event that supports founders with innovative business ideas from across the globe, particularly in the technology sector – as well as working with organisations like UNFPA and LinkedIn, attended by high-profile executives such as the CEO of LinkedIn China and representatives from the LinkedIn Singapore office, and facilitating workshops in partnership with some of China's best universities, including Peking University and Tsinghua University.

Georgiou decided to study for an MBA at Peking University but kept BeHive running, along with his full-time job at the Chinese conglomerate HNA and, later, at an international intellectual property law firm. He makes it sound easy but he is quick to point out that the revival of the Chinese economy is what allowed foreigners like him to create chances for themselves. Inflows of foreign capital, technology, and management know-how have, in turn, enabled China to use its vast labour resources and space to register rapid economic growth.

“Forty years ago, China was a very different place,” he says. “Many people lived in poverty but in the space of a few decades, the country has developed to where it is today, through a lot of hard work and the commitment of the Chinese people. Here, the Government draws up its five-year plans and there is always continuity. This is arguably one of the main reasons why the country has achieved such high economic growth. The Government decided to focus more on the domestic market and on developing the middle class, to delve into technology, software and services instead of focusing on exports, which they did in previous years.” He goes on to provide some examples of how this change has manifested itself in business.

“I know many people who have created positions that did not previously exist, myself included! When I met the Managing Partner of the law firm where I work, it was a small practice, but as the years went by and the international workload increased and through the relationship we had created, we decided to explore the idea of having a more professional relationship. The firm never advertised that it was looking for an international legal counsel but I was able to create this position for myself. And this is something that many international professionals working in China have done.”

As a foreigner who has lived in China for almost nine years, Georgiou is clearly taken by the people there: hard-working, diligent, respectful, innovative and unafraid to try something new are only a few of the qualities he attributes to them. He recalls being made to feel very comfortable and welcomed, particularly major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. “People may be more reserved – the way they show appreciation or affection might not be through words but, for example, in the form of a small token of appreciation, such as a small gift or treating you to a meal,” he says with a smile.

He has concluded that people in China tend to work longer than in the West. “They are very entrepreneurial in the way they approach life,” he says, to which I can’t resist asking why there was such a great exodus of foreign talent from the country during and after the pandemic lockdowns.

“During the pandemic, many foreigners left because of the restrictions imposed across the country,” he explains. “As a foreigner, it wasn't difficult to leave but it was difficult to go back. If your visa had expired while you are away, you couldn't get back and it was only in March 2023 that the borders opened again. That was one of the main reasons why many foreigners left China and now the Government is trying to roll out schemes through which they can attract more Westerners to work there again.”

Despite his fondness for the country, Costas Georgiou has finally decided to leave China, so what does that mean for BeHive?

He does not seem worried and explains that, since the advanced business world has embraced digital communication, many of its partner organisations prefer online facilitation. China, vast and populous, remains a huge market and although Georgiou and Djakouris – who is currently living and working in Barcelona – started in Beijing, they have since expanded their activities to other cities like Shanghai and Hangzhou and built a very strong network.

Now, Georgiou is trying to explore alternative ways of utilising his network and resources from China to bring value to the European market. He is in discussions with companies engaged in construction materials, winemaking and lab-grown diamonds for potential introductions to Europe. Ideally, he admits, he will eventually be dividing his time between London, Cyprus and China. “Beijing is a city that I have come to love and I consider it my second home. It has given me opportunities, friends, love, and allowed me to become a better version of myself. I will be forever grateful for everything it has given me.”

(Photo by TASPHO)

(This article first appeared in the 2024 edition of The Cyprus Journal of Wealth Management, commissioned by Eurobank Cyprus and published by IMH. Click here to view the article. Click here to view the entire magazine online.)